Reusing clay pebbles now having ppm problems

Matrix848484

Matrix848484

Active Member
Hello growers Im currently reusing my clay pebbles in a drip system I had washed them a few times in a bucket but just with tap water and nothing acidic is it possible that there is still nutrients and salt build up in the pebbles thats spiking my ppm levels ?? They stay at a 1000 when I refill the res but a couple days after they jump to 1400-1500.

P.s Let grow !
 
013 said:
hmm that’s wild,

soil guy here but I kinda assumed clay pellets needed to be nuked between runs.…. idk but was thinking watered down h202 or iso but you get my drift.

one of the hydro crew will jump in soon
Click to expand...
Yeah I didn't really think about it I just soaked them in a bucket of tap water a few times , I added more water 2 days ago got it back to 1000 checked it today and its at 1250 lol.What strains are you growing man ?
 
Well I can try think of a few ways that might happen.
A) you might not be giving your nutrients enough time to dissolve into you water.
B) your plants are drinking in more water then they are nutrients. So the ppm rises.
To fix this I would add some ph water or weaker nutrient solution to dilute back down every couple days.
Sorry If it is not either of the above. :bongrip:
I just got back into hydro for my veg plants. Like two months ago.
So I’ve seen similar drifts every now and then.
 
Matrix848484 said:
Hello growers Im currently reusing my clay pebbles in a drip system I had washed them a few times in a bucket but just with tap water and nothing acidic is it possible that there is still nutrients and salt build up in the pebbles thats spiking my ppm levels ?? They stay at a 1000 when I refill the res but a couple days after they jump to 1400-1500.

P.s Let grow !
Click to expand...
Some salts can get stuck on the pebbles. I rinse mine with a garden hose, remove all inorganic, then put it into my system with h202, and RO. After 2 days dump, repeat once and they're squeaky clean.

But I'm assuming that your midst grow based upon a PPM of 1000?

Drop some photos and more details?

Depending on the circumstances, you might have leaching going on.

Have you been following a feed regimen similar to the chart (see the attachment)?
What's your res temps?
Any pests?
How's your PH been?

Sorry the more you can answer, the more of a picture you paint and the better an answer you can get.
 
Scottylikesbud said:
Well I can try think of a few ways that might happen.
A) you might not be giving your nutrients enough time to dissolve into you water.
B) your plants are drinking in more water then they are nutrients. So the ppm rises.
To fix this I would add some ph water or weaker nutrient solution to dilute back down every couple days.
Sorry If it is not either of the above. :bongrip:
I just got back into hydro for my veg plants. Like two months ago.
So I’ve seen similar drifts every now and then.
Click to expand...
Yeah I used the same system and nutrients last plant I grew and never had a problem the clay pebbles were brand new then but. Thanks for the help man
 
Rexer said:
Some salts can get stuck on the pebbles. I rinse mine with a garden hose, remove all inorganic, then put it into my system with h202, and RO. After 2 days dump, repeat once and they're squeaky clean.

But I'm assuming that your midst grow based upon a PPM of 1000?

Drop some photos and more details?

Depending on the circumstances, you might have leaching going on.

Have you been following a feed regimen similar to the chart (see the attachment)?
What's your res temps?
Any pests?
How's your PH been?

Sorry the more you can answer, the more of a picture you paint and the better an answer you can get.
Click to expand...
Hey what is leaching ? My buckets are 50L and I refill/nutes every 1 or so , the res temps are mid 20s°c , pH has been spot on 6.0 and no pests.My leaves are a little twisted and dry but still growing alright.Thanks

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20211021_154816.jpg
 
The clay pellet's are porous. When you repeatedly soak them in nute solution then let them dry the salts condense in them as the water evaporates. Between grows I soak mine in distilled vinegar water over night then strait PH water to dissolve the salt deposits, and neutralize. Were you previously growing the same strain and setup?
Other possibilities; If the plant PPMs are too high compared to the res it will drink the water and flush excess salts out through the roots raising the res PPM. Not all PPM meters use the same scale, it is based on country of manufacturer. So 1000PPm could be too high, good , or way low. I have 2 meters that show the same EC on a res but one calls it 600PPM the other calls it 1900PPM.
 
Yeah it must be clay pebbles , I had non issues on the last grow with ppms, they stayed at a 1000 all the time. This setup is pretty much the same I just got 2 plants in the one bucket instead of one also on the last grow the plant was sweating alot in the capony but these plants arent sweating at all.I'll just have to persevere because I can't extactly take the pebbles out now and wash them properly lol. Thanks for the advice.

P.s Lets grow !
 
I had my drippers fuller open pissing out water which was probably overwatering/fertilisering my plants I changed them too just dripping a little bit and now the plants are looking a lot better . Thanks for all the help guys I'm learning so much in this forum

P.s let's grow !

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16353307709935152695798074261295.jpg
 

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